In the last couple years browsing by cell phone as increased ten fold! Apple has still not incorporated the ability to read flash files in their mobile devices. When I’m out and about with friends and we’re searching for a place to dine, the first thing everyone does is reach for their phone to see what’s local. The next thing that happens is the click to view the restaurant’s website to see the ambiance and of course, the menu. So often I am disappointed because the website is either so poorly designed, the menu is a PDF and doesn’t load quickly, or the flash won’t play rendering the site useless.

I truly believe that most restaurant owners have a website simply because they think they should. What they do not realize is that a website is an incredibly valuable tool that can drive their business to new levels in so many ways!

I’ve put together some very simple concepts that every restaurant should incorporate within their website. These are the bare essentials:

A full menu that can be printed which is easy for the restaurant staff to update with a simple click or two.

A specials menu that changes daily. (Also easy to update with a simple click or two!)

A page telling of the restaurant’s history or their story is always interesting to readers.

Services the establishment offers are important for extended business.

Galleries – both video and pictures can sell a potential patron on trying a particular restaurant. Good quality pictures taken from a ditial camera utilzing the proper lighting and capturing the essence of the establishment is a vital part of the presentation.

While not every restaurant offers events or live entertainment, it’s truly something that should be considered and implemented. A calendar with a list of events always helps to sell an evening. We incorporate a module that is built into your website and is easy to update. We have also utilized Google Calendar and Microsoft’s Outlook Celendar modules upon request.

Reviews are an essential part of a restuarant’s business. Perhaps I should say “good” reviews! It’s not always a written review that sells someone on a place to dine. Reviews can also be video reviews. If a picture is worth a thousand words, imagine what a video is worth!

A contact page with a custom form or forms that are directly sent to one or multiple email accounts of your choosing.

A live interactive map that will allow a patron to get and print directions from their location directly to yours without ever leaving your site!

As an additional option, a live reservation system can be put into place so your clientele can manage and book their reservations online.

As another additonal option, a live ordering module can be added to your website that allows your clientele to place pick-up orders via your website. You can be notified of a new order by email.

The ability to simply add content to your site, manage and edit everything is through a simple interface that is as easy as creating a Word Doc or updating a Facebook page is part of your package.
Choose from one of our original professional template designs, or have us customize something for you. And what about a simplified mobile version of your website that will show automatically when cell phones are connected to your site? No problem! That’s included as well!

Let’s not forget about the social networking scene! You can’t afford not to be a part of it! It’s happening now! It’s been happening for a while! It’s FREE marketing that goes viral and it doesn’t cost you a cent! Imagine being able to update your website with a promotional event and with one click of a button, facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are also updated with your new content! You’ve just killed four birds with one stone! Automation! There’s nothing better!

A performing duo, Manlow is the Mentalist and Baltus, the Magician. Developed on WordPress as an extension of a business card.

]]>http://webauthorings.com/wa2/2012/06/manlow-baltus/feed/0StellaBatts.comhttp://webauthorings.com/wa2/2012/06/stellabatts-com/
http://webauthorings.com/wa2/2012/06/stellabatts-com/#commentsTue, 19 Jun 2012 16:23:32 +0000adminhttp://webauthorings.com/wa2/?p=705Stella Batts is one of the newest children’s book franchises published by Sleeping Bear Press, authored by Courtney Sheinmel. WebAuthorings was fortunate to get the gig creating the online presence for StellaBatts.com. It’s the story of a little girl who’s parents own a candy shop. Stella wants to be a writer who takes the young readers on a journey through her world.

The site runs on top of the WordPress engine. The images were created by the book’s illustrator, Jennifer A. Bell. The site features roating knock knock jokes that are user submited as well a a very cool recipe module that showcases reader submissions.

]]>http://webauthorings.com/wa2/2012/06/stellabatts-com/feed/0The Web’s Futurehttp://webauthorings.com/wa2/2012/02/the-webs-future/
http://webauthorings.com/wa2/2012/02/the-webs-future/#commentsFri, 03 Feb 2012 22:21:28 +0000adminhttp://webauthorings.com/wa2/?p=691At times I wonder what life will be like in 100 years. I can’t even begin to fathom the possibilities that lie ahead! We’ve seen the drastic metamorphosis of the Internet, social media, tablets and smart phones in the last 7 years. What’s next? Web 3.0!

With concepts like Apple’s Siri, it’s no surprise that the web will migrate in this direction. So what can we expect? You will recognize the following scenario. You and your friends want to check out a local band playing in the city. You go online to see the time they go on. You also look up directions to the event. You decide that you and your friends want to eat somewhere close the club. You research the nearby restaurants and decide on the place. This is what we do now. Our efforts take us to Google or your favorite search engine. Multiple searches are done and you land on many different web sites as you gather the intelligence needed to have a fun night out on the town.

With Web 3.0, you will be able to accomplish these multiple tasks with one simple step. Search engines will be able to accept complex search queries. An example might be, “Where is the XYZ Band playing tonight and what are show times? Are there any Italian restaurants nearby where we can eat before the show?” The new technology will search and organize all of the options for you and display the results in a very organized streamlined manner. You’re saved several steps and more importantly time.

What’s very cool, too, is that A.I. will be a part of the new world! Artificial Intelligence is essentially complex algorithms that learn about you and give recommendations based on your likes, dislikes and habits. Like it or not (I love it), this is the future!

To our WebAuthorings clients who have their website content post to Facebook…

YOU CAN NO LONGER UTILZE THIS FEATURE WE SET UP FOR YOU. FACEBOOK IS NO LONGER ALLOWING IMPORTING YOUR BLOG OR WEBSITE FEED INTO FACEBOOK.

Facebook wants you to connect with your fans in the most effective ways possible. That’s why as of September 30th you’ll no longer be able to automatically import posts from your website to your Page notes. The best way to get people to interact with your content is to give them insight into the links you share on your Wall by adding personal comments and responding to feedback from fans.

We’re hoping Facebook creates a feature that will employ this feature. While I understand their reasoning, I do think it’s a bad move.
Please contact me if you have any questions regarding this announcement.

This Northeast Philly based law office website features a custom theme built on the WordPress CMS. An instant chat module was added as well as an RSS import feed for additional content. Rotating quotes from famous lawyers can be seen on the front page.

Martins Mill Legal Center is being hosted on one of the WebAuthorings’ Clouds.

Built on the WordPress solution, this site features a custom themed template built around one of the company’s structural architectural engineering designs. The color scheme was pulled from the header graphic. A small gallery displays some of Coulter’s recent projects. A vertical scroll on the right hand sidebar showcases the industry software used by the company. The top trio of spotlights mimic the overhead lighting in the header’s graphic. Elements of light blue used sparingly throughout the site reflect the center blue light showing in the header graphic.

Behind the scenes, an S.E.O. module was put in place as well as manual insertion to search engines. Other S.E.O. practices were put in place to when naming images and creating the content. CoulterEngineers.com is hosted on one of the WebAuthoring’s Clouds.

]]>http://webauthorings.com/wa2/2011/10/coulter-engineers/feed/0The Face of Things to Comehttp://webauthorings.com/wa2/2011/09/the-face-of-things-to-come/
http://webauthorings.com/wa2/2011/09/the-face-of-things-to-come/#commentsThu, 22 Sep 2011 19:06:01 +0000adminhttp://webauthorings.com/wa2/?p=649I’ve been to the future and I have to say it’s pretty cool! I always find an appreciation for new technologies probably because I’ve turned into a techno-geek somewhere along the lines. Facebook will now make it possible to find that point on the time-line where this happened! Wha-wha- whaaaaat!?!?

Somewhere in the not too far future, Facebook will roll out their Timeline Project, a new kind of profile. It’s a way to show off who you are, what you do and where you’ve been. It’s a complete design overhaul that makes a visual history of everything you’ve ever done, all the way to when you were born. With all the iterations of Facebook over the years, they pretty much focused on the here and now.

Utilizing many of the Facebook book utilities along with some new ones, you will be able to click on an interactive map of places you’ve been throughout your life, listen to the same music as your friend at the same time, along with a new class of social apps that let you express who you are through all the things you do.

Facebook chases Google+ who chases Twitter! All running for the largest market-share with Facebook in the lead. I keep accounts with the top three leaders in social networking and of course Linked-In for business networking. With Twitter being used for essentially status updates (tweets) and Facebook utilized for a deeper social connecting, I was very curious what Google, one of my favorite Internet companies would do to compete. When Google+ launched, it pretty much combined the concepts of both Facebook and Twitter. I didn’t think the interface was all that intuitive and it seemed to be targeted to a younger audience. Google+ caused Facebook to react a bit which was good to see. A partnership with Skype enabled Facebook to offer video chat. The interface works very nicely once everything is set up properly.

The latest addition to Facebook is the Subscribe button. Using this this new feature, users can choose which feeds they want to see as news feed from their friends. If people want to follow the updates of their favorite celebrities or public figures, they can use the Subscribe button without actually having their friend request accepted. Once the Subscribe button is set for any or each of your friends, the settings will override the Facebook default settings thus giving you better control of what comes through your news feed.

]]>http://webauthorings.com/wa2/2011/09/the-social-chase/feed/0Free Stuff!http://webauthorings.com/wa2/2011/09/free-stuff/
http://webauthorings.com/wa2/2011/09/free-stuff/#commentsWed, 14 Sep 2011 12:34:52 +0000adminhttp://webauthorings.com/wa2/?p=610Can you really get something for nothing in this day and age? Oh yea, baby…you definitely can! While the Internet is full of scams and plots to rob you of your hard earned money, it’s truly amazing that you can find a plithera of products and services that will not cost you a penny.

The list below will you some very cool tools for your computer that help make life easy and cost effective.